


D.M Investigative Services, Inc.

by starrynightstarryeyes



Series: The Drew Crew [1]
Category: Nancy Drew (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:28:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23669182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrynightstarryeyes/pseuds/starrynightstarryeyes
Summary: D.M Investigative Services, Inc.Here to serve all of Connecticut with their unmatched skills for seeking out the truth, no matter what difficulties may lie in their way.Call, email, or pop into our office located on Main Street in Norwalk, Connecticut, for a free consultation.
Relationships: Nancy Drew/Owen Marvin
Series: The Drew Crew [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708189
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1; the haunted office

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based off of the TV Series of Nancy Drew on The CW, but it's loosely based. Keep in mind this is my imagination, and wherever that took me.

Nancy ran her left hand over the black and gold plaque secured to the receptionist’s marble-topped desk. The black, white and gold marbling swirled into different patterns, and sometimes Nancy would trace it with her finger trying to find a pattern. Today, though, her interest was in the shiny plaque secured to the desk.

It was a shiny black, with script gold lettered font. D.M Investigative Services, Inc. It all felt so surreal, like it did every time she stepped foot into her office. Today, she stood in awe, always appreciating another fine detail in the office.

She never noticed the way the plaque sparkled in the sunlight pouring in through the frosted glass front windows. It always managed to find her, the sunlight, no matter how far she might’ve strayed from the light.

Darkness always followed her, too, trailing behind her or luring her further inside. Nancy made a request that each room in this first floor office building have a motion sensor, so she (or anyone else) wouldn’t ever walk into a dark room. 

There was a lot of darkness in the past of Nancy Drew. A lot she pushed behind her, in order to start her new life. She moved out of her hometown, out of her home state, and pursued a degree at one of the most known universities in the country. Nancy decided it was time to start her new life, and that Horseshoe Bay and it’s ghosts need not apply. 

Nancy studied Forensic Psychology, obtained her degree, and pursued a career in Investigative Services. She obtained her license from the State of New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, and Pennsylvania. She found her passion in investigative work, and although her personal investigative cases never led her to a good place, she could help others with her talents.

Nancy Drew was relentless, she was passionate, she was inquisical and she had a need to search for the truth. Nancy needed to find the light in every dark situation, which she thinks she manages to do through her investigative work. She’s helped countless families, friends, and prior coworkers obtain some clarify through her sleuthing.

One would think that she would push it far away after that fateful summer in Horseshoe Bay, but it was a fire inside of her she couldn’t put out. She needed to search out the truth, and she couldn’t deny herself that she was good at it. So, she tried to help others, far far away from her hometown.

Her new office sat on Main Street in the town of Norwalk, Connecticut. It was far enough away from her past, but it still felt like home to her. She could smell the salty ocean air whenever she opened the front door, but could choose to keep distance between her and the coast when she wanted to. 

The redhead searched all over for a place she could have a fresh start in. Her and her husband landed in Norwalk, and it was a perfect combination for the pair. Nancy still wanted to live in a coastal town, but her husband appreciated the closeness of New York City for when he needed to attend important meetings.

Nancy adjusted her placement at the desk, sitting herself on top of the receptionist’s chair and letting her fingers find their way to the Mac computer’s keyboard on a shelf underneath the desk’s top level. Any twenty nine year old would die for the position she was in, and she appreciated it every morning she woke up. 

This office was constructed in a way that meant the world to Nancy. Every single wish was thought out and followed through with. She even had a basement storage area for all of her files, so that they didn’t overrun her home. There was a lot of thought that went into this building, this office, every piece of it a small meaning held. 

“Something tells me you’re worrying again.” Her husband’s deep voice echoed through the space, coming up behind her. He always spoke before he approached, hoping to give her some warning as he knew she was quick to jump.  
“I don’t know how to not worry, you know that.” Nancy retorted simply, turning her head on a swivel as her husband stood behind her, pressing his core to her back. She leaned her cheek against his stomach, letting out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in.  
“I know, I’m just as on edge as you are.” He answered softly, resting his hands on her shoulders.  
“I know it’s a luxury, being able to be so oblivious, but don’t you ever find yourself envying other people?”  
“How so, Nancy?”  
“So many people in this world, in this state alone, and they don’t know what we know. They have no idea. They’re able to walk around oblivious, not with the feeling of being followed. They can walk into a dark room, and not expect a shape or figure to emerge from the darkness that surrounds it. They don’t know what this world is capable of, what the after-life is capable of.”

Nancy knew she was going off on a tangent, but she didn’t care. She was jealous of all the people she passed by on her daily commute. Her walk to get a hot coffee somehow held a meaning of meeting with random spirits and visions on her way to the shop. There was a cemetery behind the town square, and it’s whispers always reached her ears.

She begged for it to stop, but it never did. She would run, and they would follow. If she ignored, she’d get omens, signs, anything to taunt her and remind her that her travels didn’t mean anything to the dead. They could always see her, always access her when they wanted to.

The redhead had longed for a separation, more from Horseshoe Bay and all the secrets she uncovered in that town than anything else. She needed physical distance between her, her real father, her parental father, and her friends. Nancy only brought pain where she went, and she did it partly to protect them, and partly to live a selfish life without the weights of her hometown locking her down.

“I see. Well, to be fair, before I met you, I was one of those people.”  
“I know, and I curse myself every day for bringing you into a world like this.” The redhead shook her head, sighing deeply and blinking back the frustration and anger she felt towards herself. She always hurt the people she loved, since she was a kid. It was just lucky for her that her parents - well, pseudo parents, were able to cover that up for her so she didn’t know that as a truth until she was an adult and could handle her own.  
“Nancy, you can’t. You can’t blame yourself for something I knowingly walked into.”  
“Can’t I?”  
“No, you can’t. You also can’t expect me to not acknowledge all of the beautiful things you’ve brought into this world, into my world.” He raised his hands, turning the chair she was seated on which had wheels on the bottom, around to face his kind, deep brown eyes. He wasn’t going to give her a way to look away.  
“I-”  
“You’ve done so much for me, Nancy. You brought me clarity, you brought me a love I never knew existed. You brought me comfort in times of sorrow, you brought me a second chance at a life I never expected to have lost. Nancy, you helped me find myself in a time when I didn’t know what I was here for. I had no purpose, until you came into my life. I’ll always cherish that, and always be thankful for that.” 

Nancy nodded her head slowly, her eyes locked on his. Green and blue like the salty sea a few steps away from them, meeting warm honey brown eyes that melted into a puddle every time she said his name. His facial details were impeccable, and she hoped one day, their children would share in his good genes.

Nancy knew he was speaking the truth, but it was very hard for her to believe she was doing something good for someone she loved. She was so used to hurting them, that when she brought some specks of hope or positivity, she always second guessed it. Somehow, the universe always made sure she lost something she loved. 

The two of them knew Nancy never wanted a life like this, a life where the spiritual world followed her every step. She wasn’t sure what she did to initiate the contact, but once Dead Lucy subsided, it seemed all other spirits found their way to Nancy’s ear. 

It would start in static sounding whispers, hisses at night. Nancy would toss and turn in her bed, while her husband slept peacefully. No sleep mask, no ear plugs, no sound machine would ever tone it out. 

The spirits would continue to follow her until she gave in. On the positive side of things, she was able to give many families clarity on how their loved ones died, where secrets of their family were buried, and what really happened on the last nights of their loved ones lives. But, she never wanted this, and in a heartbeat, she would turn this freaky ESPN off. 

“Nancy, we cannot continue to live in a place of fear. It’s hard, but we have to make that choice and acknowledge that sometimes, we cannot control what happens.”  
“I acknowledged that when you almost died.” The redhead muttered, letting her eyes fall to the floor and focus on her scuffed white vans. She knew she should be wearing a more professional outfit today, but for some reason, she knew she needed to be prepared to run if she had to. Heels did not give her that assurance.  
“I acknowledged that the first day I met you.” He countered, leaning down and propping her chin up to meet his gaze again. “I love you, Nancy Drew. No matter what happens, no matter what we face, we do it together. We will always do it together.”

Nancy was blessed to have such a supportive husband alongside her. He had his business, and she had hers. This investigative service was a passion project for her, but nothing she ever anticipated to come to life. She never believed she’d have an office dedicated to her childhood passion of snooping, of piecing together mysteries, but her husband believed in her.

He pushed her through undergraduate and graduate school. He helped her with whatever she needed, any tuition funds she fell short on, any support she ever needed mentally, physically, or monetarily. He wanted to see her thrive, and she did, in his care. Before him, she knew nothing like this type of love existed. When she almost lost it once, she promised herself she’d never allow that to happen again. That was part of her decision to move far, far away. 

“Thank you.” It came out of her mouth like a whisper.

With a grin, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before he heard something crash in the room behind them.


	2. Chapter 2; the sandy room.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I was going to scream for help from Lisbeth, but then she showed in the reflection of the water, her hand round my throat.”
> 
> "I was in my kitchen, and all of a sudden, the ground was covered in sand, and my wrists were wrapped up in seaweed.”
> 
> “I saw her, Nancy! The aglaeca, I saw her, she was frightening but it was just like the last time.”

Both jumped to a stand, hearing the crash in the room behind them. The one floor building they owned was a smaller space - it had the lobby/waiting room (where they were currently sitting at the front of), two back offices (his and hers), a locked file room, and a basement storage area full of extra files, cold cases, and other things she didn’t want public eyes seeing.

Almost out of instinct, Nancy reached down and untangled the vintage silver mirror she had taped to the underside of the desk. She shared a glance with her husband, who was at the ready to dial 911 emergency with one cell phone, and his work phone was set to recording a video.

He reached out, and Nancy met his warm hand halfway. He engulfed her smaller hand in his own, intertwining their fingers before pressing play on the video. He nodded, and he and Nancy stepped toward the back area where they heard the crash from. Whatever was making the noise was unhappy they weren’t coming fast enough, because another crunch to the ground sounded off.

The pair sped up, both watching each other’s back. Nancy stood behind her husband, her back to his, watching the front door in case it was a trap. Her mirror was pointed behind her, so she could see what her husband was seeing.

He popped his head and camera into the first office, Nancy’s, and made a sound so Nancy knew to turn around. His movement triggered the motion sensored lights, which lit up the room in a warm glow as opposed to the terrible fluorescent lighting.

In front of him were shattered picture frames, all laying on the ground of her tiled office. She had photos of her and her mother and father, well, the Drew family, which remained untouched on her floating shelves that lined all four walls of the office. 

Nancy wanted to line her office in photographs and artifacts. Some photographs were personal pictures, some were historial. She had an artifact from pretty much every mystery she had ever solved. 

From the newspaper clipping Carson framed for her after her last run-in with Simon, to a thank you note from one of her early murder mysteries’ siblings who appreciated the clarify Nancy’s work gave her family, to an antique silver blade she was gifted from the mother of a police officer who mysteriously vanished after hiring Nancy to help the local police department with their search.

Those all remained untouched. 

What was shattered on the ground, her husband was bent down recording while her head was on a constant swivel around them, was some of her other personal photographs she and her husband had framed for the office.

There was a picture of her and her real father, Ryan Hudson, shattered to the ground. They were standing beside each other, his arm around her shoulders, and her head leaned into him at Times Square. They had grown closer after Nancy separated herself from Horseshoe Bay, which led him to doing the same. 

Nancy needed space to figure things out. Manhattan was perfectly busy with crimes and other people's problems, so she couldn’t stew too long on her own. 

Ryan and Nancy would have breakfast every saturday at the same greek, vintage themed diner in manhattan after he purchased a penthouse suite in the area of Nancy and her husband’s apartment.

It became a tradition for them that neither could break. Her husband liked to give her this time to be private, sometimes he’d pop in, but otherwise he let her do her own thing while he worked at his home office until she’d request his appearance.

Another photograph shattered to the ground was of her and Ace, one of the only people she kept a relationship with besides Carson once she left Horseshoe Bay. Her and Ace were in The Claw, both in their uniform, laughing lightheartedly about some stupid joke he made. 

Her and Ace remained close through everything. He was always there for her, and he was one of the few that she actually opened up to. Ace knew many things about her that her other friends didn’t know, and he kept every secret to heart. He’d visited her and her husband a few times in the city, but he stayed in Horseshoe Bay because he knew it was his home. 

A photograph of Bess, George, and herself was also among the four that was shattered. Nancy remembered the day it was taken just like it was yesterday. It was after Aunt Diana’s birthday party, easily the worst night of Nancy’s life, besides when Carson told her the truth.

The three were asleep in the photograph in the hospital chairs, Nick thought it was a good shot, and even though Nancy’s stomach turned at the thought of why they were there, it was a symbol of their solitude through everything.

The last photograph that was shattered was one of her framed wedding photos. Her and her husband got married four years after she left Horseshoe Bay. She was twenty three, he was twenty nine. The photograph in question was styled to look like an old world painting, it was actually done in oil paints and a much larger copy donned the wall of the Marvin Estate. 

While Nancy was making a connection in her brain between these photographs that were specifically chosen to be crushed, her husband was checking the other office and file room that was normally locked.

“Everything is good in the other rooms,” he started as he re-entered the office. He wanted to make sure it was safe for them to be there, and there were no signs of forced entry or exit.  
“Whoever it was, isn’t here any longer.”  
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Nancy drawled softly, pointing to each photograph. “This wasn’t a person.”  
He paused. “Do you think it-”

Suddenly, all of the shattered glass on the ground Nancy was poking at with the edge of her victorian style mirror turned to sand. Nancy stood up from her crouching down, exchanging glances with her partner before swiveling her head around the room again.

“What the---”  
“Nancy…” he spoke softly, reaching out and grabbing her now clammy hand as the tiled floor began to fill with sand. “Nancy, come on.”  
“What is going on?” She questioned, still studying the floor in question.  
“Nancy!” He raised his voice, tugging at her hand and pulling her back into the hallway outside of the door frame. 

As he did so, the sandy floor began to change once more. It became a solidified sandy mess, but when he reached forward to grab the mirror she dropped in the rush of him pulling her away, the mirror disappeared underneath, like it was gulped through the sand.

“Well, quicksand is new.” She muttered, giving him a pointed look.  
“Nancy…”  
“I know what you’re going to say.”  
“So don’t make me say it,” he begged, moving his phone to catch a recording of the now sandbox looking office space.  
“It’s th-”

Before Nancy could finish her sentence, the sand completely disappeared in a blink of an eye. She gripped his arm, and he put his free hand over hers, squeezing it as his phone continued to capture what was happening in front of them.

The four photographs that were shattered to the ground and covered in glass, then sand, now lay standing up against the furthest wall on the ground. Her homemade ghost trap the pair had made for the office was standing still. 

Nancy opened her mouth to speak, when her cell phone began ringing insistently. She took it out of her pocket, noticing the caller ID and answering immediately.

“Nancy, hi, I hate to call without a warning, bu-”  
“It happened to you too.” She stated into the phone, giving her husband a nod as he turned off the recording.  
“You saw it?!”  
“Well, wait, what did you see Bess?”  
“I saw her.”  
“Her?” Nancy repeated, following him to the front room where he made sure to lock the front door.  
“I saw her, Nancy! The aglaeca, I saw her, she was frightening but it was just like the last time.”  
“What did you see, Bess?” Nancy asked, taking her seat at the front desk as he finally sat beside her. He dug around the drawers, grabbing out a legal pad and some pens and setting them in front of the pair.  
“So, I was taking a bath in the manor, and I did a seaweed scrub which was di-vine, by the way. Anyway, the candles I lit started flickering and you know what that means, so I reached for my towel to jump out and before I could, the tub’s water turned black, it looked like a storm.” Nancy could hear her friend gasp, like it was painful to continue.  
“I tried to get out, but I couldn’t, it was like holding me in. I was going to scream for help from Lisbeth, but then she showed in the reflection of the water, her hand round my throat.” Her voice trailed off, and Nancy assumed Bess was finally letting it sink into her brain what just happened.  
“Nancy, what does it mean?”  
“It means that she remembered us,” The redhead surmised. “It means she’s still angry, and I-I have to check on everyone else.”  
“Nancy….you need to come back.”  
“Bess, I-”  
“Ace is calling,” the brunette next to Nancy announced before taking the call and rubbing his forehead. “Hey Ace.”  
“Yo, is Nancy there?” He was panting into the telephone.  
“She’s on the other phone with Bess right now.”  
“So you guys saw it too.” Ace’s tone of voice turned solemn, hoping it was just a freak thing to him.  
“What did you see?”  
“It was more like what I felt. I was in my kitchen, and all of a sudden, the ground was covered in sand, and my wrists were wrapped up in seaweed.”  
“Oh, no,” he muttered.  
“Yeah, and that’s not all. I started sinking into the floor, sinking dude! I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t fight it, my wrists were tied and it felt like my ankles were, too.”  
“That happened to us, too.”  
“My body was swallowed by the sand, and before my head could be, it all just...disappeared.” Ace’s voice was dripping in disbelief, he couldn’t get himself wrapped up around it.  
“Yeah, we watched it ourselves.”  
“Are you guys okay?”  
“So we weren’t hurt, but okay is a loose term, Ace.”  
“How is she?”  
“She’s...she’s not sure.” He answered honestly, looking at Nancy and watching as she remained on the phone with Bess and scribbling notes all over the pad. “I’m not sure.”  
“I think you guys have to come back..” Ace spoke slowly, knowing it wasn’t something Nancy wanted to hear.  
“I know, it’s just...the whole almost dying thing? Not all it’s cracked up to be.” Owen answered softly, watching his wife work beside him. He stood up, pacing to the front door and making sure, again, that it was locked, before going to the computer and pulling up the security cameras. He knew they wouldn’t catch an intruder, but he was hoping there was something.  
“Has anyone spoken to Ryan?” Nancy asked, putting her call with Bess and Owen’s with Ace on speaker and putting the phones beside each other on the counter. Ryan wasn’t involved with the initial act, but he was part of the sealing ritual, so the spirit was clearly not happy with him, either.  
“No, why?”  
“No I haven’t.”  
“George?”  
“Nope.”  
“Nada, she’s been MIA for a few days.”

Her and Owen exchanged worried glances before he continued to scan the security cameras.

“I guess we’re coming home,” Nancy resounded quietly, watching over Owen while her heart sped up a million times in her chest. She wasn’t going to lose him again, but the spirit made itself clear that each of the members were going to pay for something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so....i'll be doing more in depth chapters with more of a backstory to explain what really happened before Nancy left Horseshoe Bay, but I couldn't just call him her husband forever, could I?


	3. Chapter 3; that fateful night.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Nancy saw was blood, lots of blood. The bathtub was covered, and without a second thought, her body instinctively went to cover Owen’s as Bess screamed for help and George called for an ambulance. Nick and Ace ran to the tub where Nancy was pressing herself on top of Owen’s body, which was still warm, trying to stop the bleeding like a little child would plug a leak on a toy sailboat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [part 1/?, Nancy's replay of the season 1 finale in the TV show. As I explained before, Owen was too valuable of a character for me to let die so soon. So, this is Nancy's recall of what happened in this story, separate from the television series. ty for reading!]

All Nancy saw was blood, lots of blood. The bathtub was covered, and without a second thought, her body instinctively went to cover Owen’s as Bess screamed for help and George called for an ambulance. Nick and Ace ran to the tub where Nancy was pressing herself on top of Owen’s body, which was still warm, trying to stop the bleeding like a little child would plug a leak on a toy sailboat. 

Her voice was shaky, she couldn’t stop yelling his name as a crowd of guests gathered round the bathroom to see what the noise was about. At one point, she heard him make an inaudible noise, which she hoped was him trying to tell her he was okay, but she knew better. Her hands were stained ruby red with blood by the time the paramedics came.

Ace and Nick lifted her off of Owen’s body, as the paramedics lifted him onto a stretcher. There was a traveling oxygen tank immediately strapped to his mouth, and a patch was applied in an attempt to stop more blood loss before they ran out the bathroom and to the front entrance of the home where the ambulance sat, sirens blaring and lights flashing.

Nancy sprinted, following with her friends trailing behind, up until she got to the front room. Aunt Diana threw herself into the back of the ambulance alongside Owen, and Bess took hold of Nancy’s arm to tell her to let them go. The redhead nodded, and the EMT’s closed the doors before whizzing down the street. It only made sense, Nancy told herself, and as she looked down at her bloody hands, she knew she shouldn’t arrive at the hospital like such.

Bess guided her to the closest bathroom, her heart racing just as much as Nancy’s but trying to keep it together as much as she could. Ace, Nick, and George came in with them. Ace ran the water and Bess grabbed a handful of soap, helping Nancy scrub her hands clean while George and Nick looked for towels. No one spoke a word.

Once she was clean, the five left the bathroom. Nancy grabbed her car keys from the purse around her shoulder, but Ace took them away from her. She stared up at him with fire in her bright eyes.   
“I’ll drive you, let’s go.”

Nancy nodded, trailing behind Ace as she followed him to his car. Bess and George rode with Nick, and once they reached the Horseshoe Bay Emergency Center, Nancy threw the car door open and sprinted inside. Panicking and panting, her eyes searched until she saw Aunt Diana sitting in the corner looking weak and broken hearted. She approached her, and Owen’s aunt nodded to the chair beside her without a word.

She sat, and soon enough, her friends were surrounding them, too. Bess was holding Aunt Diana, Ace was keeping a grip on Nancy’s arm, and George and Nick were pacing the floor. Nick was searching for a nurse for updates, and George was taken first by the police who arrived to take a statement. 

It took three hours before the doctor first came out. He was an older gentleman, with wrinkles and dry hands and tired eyes. He called for the Marvin family, and Nancy alongside Aunt Diana approached him immediately. Bess stayed put, knowing Nancy needed to hear it first. The doctor questioned their relationship, and Aunt Diana assured him she was part of the family, so Nancy could be part of the conversation.

“He lost a lot of blood. We have him prepping for a transfusion now, but with the loss and the stab puncture, we have him under a medically induced coma. There was a severe amount of blood loss and trauma, and we were afraid he’d suffer from brain damage if we didn’t.”  
“What does that mean?” Aunt Diana questioned.  
“We were able to seal the wound, we stopped the bleeding and stitched him up. But, he’s going to undergo a transfusion, and when he’s stable, I will advise you both.”  
“What about the coma?” Nancy asked, her voice broken.  
“So, he should be under for about two days. Then, we will have him wake, and assess the situation. You got him just in time, any longer and I don’t think we would’ve been able to save him.”  
“So he was alive? Right? He was still alive?”  
“Yes, Miss. After the transfusion, once he is stabilized, I will let you come visit. But, due to the nature of the wound, please keep this private. Someone wanted him dead, and he might not be so lucky the next time. There’s two police officers stationed outside his door. We want to limit who knows where he is, and who knows that he’s not actually dead. Someone might try to come back for a second visit.”

The two women nodded, and as the doctor left, Nancy went to inform her friends of the situation. She was thankful he was still alive when they admitted him, but she knew they weren’t out of the woods yet. His likelihood of actually surviving and coming out of this coma was extremely low, but with his last name, the doctors knew they had to try everything.

“Someone tried to murder my cousin?” Bess whispered.  
Aunt Diana sighed, leaning back in her chair and putting a hand to her forehead. “Dear, there are a lot of things you don’t know about this family. For the time being, I don’t want any of the relatives near him.”  
“You think your family did this? That’s cold.” Ace noted.  
“I think you can’t rule out anyone yet.” Nancy answered, her eyes staring straight ahead. 

Her brain hurt from the recent events, and she wanted to run, but she had nowhere else she needed to be but beside Owen. It felt like a lifetime before the doctor returned, informing them that they could visit with him. He won’t be able to answer, but he can hear you, he assured them. Nancy let Diana go first, and she sat on her chair in the waiting room with her right leg bouncing up and down until she reappeared.

The redhead stood, and so did Ace. She didn’t realize until she was halfway to the room that Ace was following her. She turned around, and before she could ask him why, he answered.

“I’m not letting anything happen to you. You and I both know if they came for him, they’re coming for you, too.” 

Nancy nodded in appreciation for her friend before finishing her journey to the door. She couldn’t see through the blinds in the window, as they were drawn closed for privacy. Two Horseshoe Bay police officers were on either side of the door. As Nancy entered, Ace stood in the doorway between both officers. The Drew Crew was far too aware of how incompetent some of the local police force were. 

Entering the room, she felt her heart fall to her feet. Nancy approached Owen’s bed, and seeing him laying there so still sent chills down her spine. She took the seat that was beside him, reaching up and resting her hand against his cheek. It was warm, and his complexion had a healthy flush to it, probably from the blood transfusion.

“Owen,” Nancy started, taking hold of his hand in between both of hers. “I am so, so incredibly sorry. I can’t help but feel like I’m part of the reason why you’re here. People try to stop me, and I don’t want them coming after you anymore. I will figure this out, I will find out what happened, for you. Now I finally see how you felt each time I managed to be in danger,” she laughed dryly, pressing her lips to his hand and closing her eyes.

For the first time since she buried Kate, Nancy let herself fall apart behind the closed door. She still felt safe with Owen, regardless of whether he knew he was there or not. She cried, she cried her heart out. Nancy cried for the loss of Owen, the chance he might not come out of this and she’d lose the best thing to happen to her. She cried for his Aunt Diana, who would be losing what felt like a son. She cried for her own loss of a father, and gain of a second father. She cried for Nick and his loss of Tiffany, she wept for all of the families around her going through so many dark times that she tried to assist with but ended up feeling like she was exploited. 

Nancy wasn’t sure how long she was in there, she felt like it was mere minutes, but Ace said it was about three hours before the doctor came in. Ace followed him in cautiously. 

“Unfortunately, Miss, but visiting hours are done for tonight. You can come back in the morning, the hours start at ten.”  
“I’m not leaving unless there’s an officer with him.” Nancy stood, wiping her wet cheeks and looking back at the doctor and Ace. “I want Officer Lisbeth here. Outside the door is not enough. If someone went this far, I’m sure they’ll go further.”

The doctor audibly sighed, but left the room with mention of contacting the police department. Minutes later, Lisbeth was walking through the door and Nancy breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I’ll be here for the night, Nancy, you need to rest.”  
“I’m going to take her home.” Ace informed Lisbeth, who was setting her stuff down.  
“In the morning, you can come back and I’ll return to the station to continue my investigation.”  
“I...I think I’ll ask Bess.”   
“Nancy, you need a break tonight. I need you to promise me you won’t go out sleuthing tonight, go home, rest, heal.”  
“Yes, tonight, but tomorrow I’m going to find out who did this, so Bess will have to stay here and keep eye.”  
Lisbeth sighed, but nodded her head. “That’s fine, I understand. Make sure you let her know, I’m sure she’ll be calling me all night for updates.”  
“Thank you, Lisbeth.” Nancy squeaked out, before her and Ace left the room.

When her and her friends disbanded, Bess promised she’d be there at 9:30 the next morning, and Ace refused to leave Nancy alone. So, he drove her home and sent a text to his parents letting them know he was staying the night. Nancy didn’t protest. She wasn’t ready to be alone, either.

The pair walked into her house, and if it wasn’t for the trauma she’d been through, she’d be less surprised to see Carson and Ryan across from each other at the breakfast bar, both with a hot cup of coffee in hand. The time on the microwave oven read 2:32 AM.

“Nancy,” Carson started, setting his coffee down and launching himself towards her. 

Nancy realized tonight how quickly life could be taken from you. Although she couldn’t forgive him, and most definitely wouldn’t forget his lies to her for the past nineteen years, she needed a father. 

“I’m so sorry.” He breathed, as she allowed him to wrap her in his arms. Those three words felt heavy, and she knew they were meant for more than just the last six hours of her life.   
“I know.” She whispered, burying her head in his shoulder and closing her eyes, feeling some sense of security. 

The two stayed like that for a while. Ace had kicked off his shoes and poured himself a cup of coffee, standing beside Ryan who he was entirely skeptical of still. Once they broke apart, Carson stepped back so Ryan could speak.

The blonde stepped forward, his hands coming out of his pockets to sit on her forearms. “Nancy, I know I’m...us, we…..I know this is a hard situation. You know I don’t like him, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad, or that I’m not here for you. You shouldn’t have to deal with a loss like I did.”

Nancy decided then that she wasn’t going to inform him of her boyfriend’s situation. The fact that he needed to remind her he didn’t like Owen didn’t sit well with her. Ace noticed it too, setting his coffee mug down and beginning to move when Carson threw his hand out to stop him from moving a step.

“I’m here for you. I know we have no way to know the past, but if I knew about you earlier, I would’ve been here for you earlier. All I can do now is try to change the future to be what I want it to be. I’ll never replace Carson, I know that, but at least let me be here for you.”  
“Okay.” She said softly, blinking up at Ryan. “Why is it that Hudson blood feels so...cursed?”  
“We lose a lot of people we love, Nancy.” He answered quietly. 

With that, Nancy was ready to go to her room. She nodded, breaking apart from him and going to the front door to kick off her shoes. She hung her purse on the stairway banister, closing her tired eyes and sighing. 

Carson made the arrangements that evening. Ryan refused to leave, so Carson set him up on the living room couch. Ace was to sleep on the trundle in Nancy’s room like Bess did, because they were all afraid someone would be coming after her just as much as they did Owen. 

Before Nancy fell asleep, she laid awake in her bed staring at the ceiling, as Ace did the same thing. They were both thinking the same thing, but Ace didn’t want to put it in words. Yet, at least, considering Nancy was through enough trauma at the moment. However, Nancy couldn’t help herself.

“Did you notice that?” She asked softly, knowing Ace would have picked up on it if it was worth picking up on.  
“I did.” 

That was all the answer she needed before she closed her eyes and prayed tomorrow would come sooner.


	4. Chapter 4; that fateful dream.

The next morning, Nancy awoke with a push. Ace was already awake and having breakfast with her dad, well, dads, when she came down the stairs with tired eyes and bedhead.

“Morning, sweetheart. There’s eggs and bacon, and pancakes. Coffee is on, I just made a fresh pot.” Carson informed his daughter, stepping towards her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head, which she didn’t squirm away from for the first time in months.  
“Thanks, but I’m not staying too long.”  
“Nanc, you really need to separate yourself from all this for a while.”  
“Dad, I will when I’m ready to. Until then,” Nancy started as she poured herself a cup from the pot of black coffee Carson handed her, “I need to find out why his life is in danger, which also means mine is.”  
“Tell us what you need.” Ryan popped up, and everyone in the room turned to him in bewilderment. “Look, I was your age, and the more my parents fought me, the more I did it anyway. I’d rather know what you’re doing, than be surprised when one of us gets a phone call from the local P.D later.”  
“...I think that’s the first time anything you’ve ever said makes sense.” Ace blurted, taking a bite out of the strip of bacon Carson put on his plate.   
“Thanks, I think?” He mumbled, taking a sip of his coffee and watching Carson and Nancy interact. 

He envied it. He was her father, not Carson, but Nancy almost refused to acknowledge that fact. It frustrated him, he didn’t want her looking at him as if he was intruding. He was supposed to be there, damn it, and he was supposed to provide for her. He did a lot of thinking since the news broke to him, and he knew he needed to grow up. For one, he knew he would never reveal it to his parents. But, secondly, he needed to start acting like a father and if he could learn from anyone, it was Carson.

“Well, Ace and I better get a move on. I have to be at the hospital for Owen’s family, and I have a few leads to follow first.” She remembered then that her and Ace weren’t informing Ryan of Owen’s current medical status, that pretending he was dying was much easier and safer at the moment.  
“Nancy,” Carson cautioned. “Don’t forget to eat, okay? I’ll leave you alone after, I promise.”  
“I’ll check in every hour, alright Dad?” She promised Carson, wolfing down two eggs he had made sunny side up for her and munching on a bacon strip before guzzling her coffee and heading towards her purse by the front door.  
“Thanks, Mr. Drew...Mr. Hudson….man, this is gonna get old real quick.” Ace muttered, sticking his dirty plate in the sink then quickly moving to catch up with Nancy.

The two walked outside, and she felt at peace once she shut the door. At least, for now, one part of her life was being contained. She hoped, at least. Shaking her head, she began to walk towards her car while Ace headed towards his. Confused, he followed her instead, leaving Florence parked on the street in front of the Drew household.

“I can drive, Ace. You...thank you. You did a lot for me, yesterday and today, and I know I don’t say much, but I appreciate it, a lot more than you know.”  
Ace nodded his head. “I’m happy to be here. So, what’s the next step?” He questioned, popping open the passenger side door and climbing into her sports car.  
“This.” Nancy stated, reversing out of her driveway. “I want to look at Owen’s apartment, while the estate is being overrun with police and detectives.”  
“Doesn’t he live at the estate, though?”  
“Not exactly. He has a private apartment on the other side of town, it’s nothing fancy, but he would go there when he wanted privacy. I’d stay there with him for the most part, he knew I didn’t love the Marvin stare downs.”  
“You think whoever wanted to hurt him knew?”  
“Whoever wanted to hurt him was watching him, and if I had anything to do with it, they’d know we were there.”

Ace sat back with a nod, flipping on the radio to a popular rock station while Nancy’s blue car zoomed through the streets. Ace didn’t want to push Nancy, not when he was the only one so far she was successfully letting into her world and into her mind. She was tired of being so secretive, but it was self preservation, and he knew it. He didn’t mind their time together being silent because he knew she rarely let anyone be there to begin with.

Ace didn’t want to push her away, or push his luck and lose her further. He and her made a good team, they had a similar brain path and both were always thinking. With his knowledge of the police department and hacking skills, he brought a lot to Nancy’s sleuthing table. Plus, after getting used to Owen accompanying her, it was nice to have a partner.

After a few minutes of driving, Nancy parked at a two floor building. She climbed out of her car as did Ace and they both examined what was happening behind them before entering the building. Nancy walked towards the staircase, hoping to find an indication of some form of life. It was a building Owen owned and built a private apartment into the top floor. The other space was utilized by his construction company, primarily for storage and random meetings. 

Ace followed her up the stairs and to the front door. He watched as she took a key out of her purse, which made Ace raise a brow. How close were they? He shook the thoughts away as he entered with Nancy, closing the door quietly and locking it. The two stood beside each other, examining the neatly organized living room, kitchen with no dirty dishes, bathroom that looked clean enough to not be used for a few days. It didn’t make sense. 

She padded towards the bedroom and Ace followed, even though he felt extremely out of place. It seemed almost….too private, going into her and his bedroom. Like she knew how he was feeling, she turned her head and gave him a soft smile before nodding to go ahead inside. Nancy took the closet, and Ace took the bed and surrounding area. 

“It doesn’t look like anything was moved,” Nancy mumbled as she went through his closet. “At least, nothing more than how he would’ve left it when he was getting ready.”  
“I don’t see any footsteps, prints, anything.” Ace replied as he searched around the room, eyes zeroing in on the trunk. “You have any idea what’s in it?”  
“Not one,” she replied, standing up from her crouched position analyzing his shoe collection and coming to help Ace open it.   
“Wait,” the redhead paused, feeling a chill on her skin. She turned her head, and walked towards the window where she felt a draft. “He never opens his windows, he’s afraid someone’s going to find out he lives here.” Nancy moved her hand around, feeling the breezy air.   
“It’s unlocked.” Ace noted as he was tall enough to see the lock above her head.

Nancy pushed the curtains aside, tilting her head in the sunlight until she saw the glare of a hand print. 

“I found the smoking gun.”  
\--------  
Nancy panted as she sprinted through the hospital corridors. It was almost time for them to re-wake Owen, and she refused to miss it. Ace was hot on her heels, and Aunt Diana was standing outside of her nephew’s room when the pair approached. George, Nick, and Bess were there, as well.

“The doctor let us all in to speak one more time before they begin. You can go in, we’ll wait.” Bess explained, her arms round her Aunt’s shaky shoulders. 

Everyone was a ball of nerves. The doctor had informed Aunt Diana earlier that day that his levels indicated there’s a very good chance he won’t wake. So, Nancy presumes the doctor was giving everyone their last chance to say their peace in preparation of the negative outcome.

The redhead closed the door behind her, staring at his body from the doorway. She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t nervous, she was terrified. Her hands were shaky as she took his in both of hers, kneeling next to the bed and watching his slow breathing. She didn’t have the words to speak to Owen, so she didn’t.

“Mom….Lucy, please, to God, please help him. I know you only come when it’s convenient for you, I get that, but...but I’m your daughter, your brother just tried to murder me for a second time, my uncle, Mom. I can’t…..I can’t lose him, I just can’t. Please, I beg of you, I’ll do anything to protect him.” Nancy cried into his arm, now leaning over his body. She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, to both his cheeks. “Owen, I will do everything in my power to help you, but I need you to help yourself, too. You need to do this, for me, for your family, for us, for our friends. Do it for yourself, you weren’t ready. I’m not ready.”

The knock at the door startled Nancy, but she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her blue sweater and stood firm as the doctor along with her grouping of friends and Diana walked into the room.  
\----  
“Owen,” Nancy breathed out, watching as his eyes began to flutter. 

She was standing to his left holding his left hand while Diana was on his right. The doctors had weaned off his coma-inducing medication a few minutes ago, and it looked like he was coming to. As he opened his eyes, Nancy let out a long sigh of relief and this time couldn’t stop the tears falling from her eyes. His chocolate eyes melted into her sea glass colored ones, and he tried to reach his hand to her cheek to stop the tears.

“Why are you crying?” He whispered, and the rest of the people surrounding them couldn’t help but laugh.   
“Nothing, I just...you’re back.” She whispered back, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

When Nancy stood back up, she watched as Lucy’s figure was at the door, but it wasn’t Dead Lucy. Instead, it was Lucy in her ball gown, bright pink and full of color, full of life. She nodded to Nancy, giving her a small smile before disappearing through the closed doorway.

Six months ago, Nancy didn’t believe in ghosts, spirits, or deities. Presently, she was thanking her dead mother for helping revive her almost-dead boyfriend. Time changes a lot of things.

\--------------

Nancy awoke in a cold sweat, her chest panting and rising and falling. She immediately threw her hands out to Owen sleeping beside her, feeling his chest and rise, and breathed out a sigh of relief. Her eyes darted to the clock, stating it was 4:30 A.M.

Sometimes, bad dreams have a way of reminding you of the realities. Reminding you of the fear you lived in, and what came out of it. With a vivid reminder, Nancy was even more hesitant to go back to Horseshoe Bay where all her shadows still resided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Italics was a flashback, normal font is current time.]


	5. Chapter 5; what happened to the hudsons?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Did you ever talk to your dad?”  
> “Carson is fine, but Ryan hasn’t returned my phone calls…” The redhead led off, taking a drink from her coffee then freezing at the realization.  
> “Do you think something happened?”  
> Nancy bit her lip, speed dialing his doorman. “Unfortunately, that’s always a possibility, now isn’t it?”

“Nancy, you really need to slow down.”  
“Nick, this is serious!” She yelled into her speakerphone.  
“And I seriously can’t understand you!”  
Nancy sighed in aggravation, and tried to repeat herself calmly. “Nick, she’s back, it’s back. I don’t know why, I don’t understand why now, but we all saw something and the more we pretend we didn’t, the worse it gets.”  
There was a pause on the other side of the phone call.  
“Nick, I’m serious, do you want this to follow you forever?”

There was a steady pause on the other line. It felt like Nick was contemplating a way to shut down this conversation, even though Nancy knew she refused to let him go. He couldn’t wiggle his way out of this, not when it affected every person they loved. Even George, he must feel sympathy for her, and if he doesn’t help, he’d be harming her just as much as himself, and just as much as everyone else.

A day had gone by since their escapade in the office, and Nancy was on edge. She barely slept the night prior, having nightmares about Owen’s last episode in Horseshoe Bay. It seemed every time Horseshoe Bay came up in conversation, only worse things happened afterwards.

“Nancy, we aren’t kids anymore. What are we supposed to do? Chase some more shadows around?” She could hear buzzing and drilling in the background, and Nancy was not happy with his snarky tone.  
“Nick, this doesn’t just affect you, it affects everyone around you, it affects us, it most likely affects your daughter, too. What’ll happen if we all get hurt? What’ll happen if, because of your defiance, we all die? Who’s going to watch her? Who’s going to love her?”  
“I get it, Nancy, but I’m over this. I understand that the stakes are high, but can’t you just do some other ritual to get her to leave us alone? I’m done chasing things that go bump in the night, and I’d be damned if I went up there. This isn’t friends, we can’t just have a reunion episode and forget everything that went down in the past between us all.”  
“Don’t be a dick, Nick.”

He was impossible. Once he opened his own shop in Florida, Nick was a different man. George warned Nancy about it before she called him, but she didn’t believe George. She thought George was just bitter; it didn’t work out in the long term, so that made sense. Nancy didn’t think she was serious, though.

George and Nick had dated for three years after Nancy left town. They had done the impulsive courthouse wedding and all, George refusing to be another statistic in the Fan household. By the time it was her and Owen’s wedding, they were legally separated. George now had a four year old to look after, and said that Nick now being in Florida really meant there were no custody problems, just that he’d sometimes be a little late with the support check.

Nancy felt terrible for both of her friends. She knew George had it hard, but she also knew Nick had a lot of his own demons to deal with, too. Neither had an easy life, but George now taking care of a child she didn’t particularly want didn’t help. She was now the single owner of The Claw, which she supposedly transformed, but Nancy would have to fact check that when she made her trip up north.

“Nick, you have to be there.” Owen interjected. Nick grew silent on the phone, and Owen was pretty much done with his attitude. Owen normally had more patience, but enough was enough.   
“Oh, hey Owen.” She could hear his embarrassment through the phone.  
“Like it or not, you did the ritual like we all did. We’re all connected by blood, we’re all connected until we finish this. Then, you can go on with your life of forgetting we exist, alright?”  
“Man, don’t say that.”  
“No Nick, I will. No one has heard from you in years. I know Nancy and I haven’t since the wedding. I thought we were friends, I thought you cared about any of us. Forget me, but Nancy?”  
“It’s different.”  
“No Nick, it really isn’t. No one is holding you accountable, but if you’re ashamed of your own behaviors, maybe you should refocus on what is and isn’t important to you. Now, are you going to help, or not?”  
There was a long pause on the other line.  
“I’ll fly up Monday, but I’m leaving Friday.”  
“Fine.” Owen rolled his eyes, standing up from their dining room table and walking to the kitchen for a drink.  
“Nice speaking with you, Nancy.”  
“Bye Nick,” Nancy replied before hanging up the call and putting her head in her hands. 

She tangled her thin red hair in her fingertips, tugging and letting out an inaudible groan. She couldn’t believe that after everything they’d been through, this was how Nick would act. He was always different with her, but now, that didn’t matter. He didn’t care, and Nancy wasn’t sure why it hurt her so much.

“He was still a close friend of yours, babe. I get that. I’d be just as upset. But, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him be a dick to you because of his own choices.”  
“I know, O, and I appreciate you sticking up for me.” She replied, picking up her head as Owen set two iced coffees down in front of her with a slice of homemade banana bread.  
“I know you’re less than thrilled with this.”  
“Extremely less than thrilled.”  
“Nanc, we need to get this done. You know that. You can’t tell me this hasn’t been haunting you since we left years ago.” He reminded her, breaking off a piece of the bread and tossing it in his open mouth.  
“It totally has. I just...going back is going to be hard. There’s a reason why my Dad comes down to visit us for holidays, babe. There’s a reason why we left, why we continued to keep distance after I graduated, why we’re here now and not there.”  
“I know, and there’s a lot we have to face going back, but if we’re going to live our lives the way we want, we need to clear this up. Nancy, we can’t move on with our life or with our dreams without knowing we’re free. We’ve been putting off a lot of big decisions because of it, because of what we would leave behind if it backfired. We need to face it now, so we can have our lives back and stop always checking behind our shoulders.” Owen always had a logical point of view. 

Nancy knew he was right. She knew they needed to return, they had unfinished business with a sea spirit that had left them alone for years, but it was only a matter of time until something like this arose. The two had put a lot of decisions on hold because of this looming factor. For example, her and Owen wanted to have kids two years ago, to really try, but they stopped after the realization hit them that if this spirit was to seek retribution, their children would be first on the line.

She had a harder time than most going back to it because of how she almost lost Owen. She refused to go back, and knowing Josh was still in jail gave her a sense of relief, but what if the aglaeca wanted Owen’s spirit this time? Josh’s attack was different, but no one could see the aglaeca coming, no one would be able to save any of them this time. Her blue eyes linked to his deep brown puddles of melted chocolate, because he knew deep down the same risks stood.

“You’re not going without me.” He started with a firm tone, taking the straw of his iced coffee and mixing the drink before taking a small sip.   
“Owen, I-”  
“No. Just...just no. It’s not an option, so don’t even bring it up.”  
“How did you know?” She asked softly, blinking up at her husband who was beside her at the head of the table.   
“I know you, Drew. I married you. We’re on the same link, we always have been.” 

Nancy nodded her head, and silence fell on the pair until Owen finally broke it with the question he was afraid to ask her.  
“Did you ever talk to your dad?”  
“Carson is fine, but Ryan hasn’t returned my phone calls…” The redhead led off, taking a drink from her coffee then freezing at the realization.  
“Do you think something happened?”  
Nancy bit her lip, speed dialing his doorman. “Unfortunately, that’s always a possibility, now isn’t it?”  
When no one answered, and Ryan didn’t answer the five calls she left him, she gave Owen a look and he stood up. “I’ll be ready in ten, let me just get changed. We’ll find him, and he’ll be fine, I promise Nancy.”  
“I hope you’re right.” She said softly, as her husband laid a kiss to her forehead before jogging up the stairs to their bedroom. 

Twenty five minutes later and an overly excited french bulldog in tow, Nancy and Owen were in his matte black G 550 cruising down the highway towards the manhattan meatpacking district. Their puppy, Oliver, a dark grey and black brindle mini french bulldog, had his own little car seat in the back row. He loved to be in the car, and would constantly cry looking out the window in hopes his parents would stop so he could frolick the grassy side roads.  
Up front, Nancy and Owen were debating through different radio stations.

“Nancy,” he groaned like he was in pain, “no more Ed Sheeran today, I beg of you.”  
“But I always pick the playlist!”  
“Yes, and you pick the same playlist.”  
“Okay, okay, that’s a fair point.” Nancy muttered, scrolling through his iPhone’s Spotify until she landed on an old playlist he had made for her in their first year of dating. “What about this one?”  
He recognized it the second the first song, your body is a wonderland, started echoing through the speakers of the car.  
“Perfect,” he said with a grin, reaching over and squeezing her knee as he continued to coast the highways of connecticut. 

It took a swift hour and change to reach Ryan’s apartment on 9th Avenue. Owen parked in the attached parking garage, refusing to let the Valet touch his car after the last time they visited (the prior Valet crashed Owen’s smoke grey corvette into a pole, oops). Nancy and he climbed out of the car, and Owen rescued Oliver from the back seat while Nancy ran up to the front door to question the doorman.  
“Hi, Mrs. Marven.”  
“How are you, Todd?”  
“I am good, and yourself?”  
“Good, good. Did you get my message about my father?”  
“Yes, I’m sorry to say but I haven’t seen him leave in quite a few days.”

Nancy’s skin began to prickle with concern. She nodded her head and Owen approached the pair, while Nancy dug the key card out of her purse. She thanked the doorman, and hastily made her and Owen’s way to the elevator. Once inside, she made sure the keycard scanned despite her shaky hands.  
“What did Todd say?” He asked hesitantly.  
“He hasn’t seen him leave in a few days.”  
“Well, that doesn’t mean anything, Nanc. He does that sometimes, Ryan loves postmates.” He pointed out.

The redhead nodded her head. She sighed, pulling the hair tie off of her wrist and tying her hair up into a messy ponytail. Owen could see she was fidgeting like she was nervous, and he reached his free hand not holding Oliver to rest on her shoulder. Nancy looked at him with a look of despair, of concern, of helplessness that Nancy never normally wore. 

“It’s going to be fine, baby girl. We’re going to make this work, I’m sure he is fine.”  
“I hope so.” 

Nancy leaned back against Owen’s shoulder, closing her eyes until the elevator dinged signalling their arrival to the sixth floor. She sighed deeply before stepping out of the elevator and into the apartment, her eyes immediately scanning the surroundings. 

Everything was in place. Her and Owen entered, Oliver squirming to get out of his arms and go see his grandfather. The dining room set looked untouched, the wooden flooring was totally clean. The living room was pristine, the kitchen looked about average. 

“Ryan?” Owen’s voice echoed throughout the five bedroom apartment, which no one knew why he wanted one so big anyway.  
“Ryan, are you home?”  
“Ryan?”  
“Shh!” An unkept Ryan Hudson came running through with his finger to his mouth, his navy velvet robe tied tightly around his hips, and his brown moccasin slippers skidding the floor as he ran towards his daughter and son in law. He stopped at the navy blue couch, gesturing for the two to come where he was in front of the floor to ceiling window.   
“She’s here, I just don’t know where she went.”  
“Who’s here?” Nancy whispered, looking around and finally taking notice of the abandoned whiskey glasses on the countertops.  
“That...that thing, that woman who wasn’t a woman, or isn’t. She’s here, and she’s pissed Nancy, I don’t know what to do, I-”  
“Ryan, have you been drinking?” Owen questioned, handing him Oliver who began to cry and lick up and down Ryan’s stubbly chin.  
“Well yes, what kind of question is that?” He asked as if it was obvious, rolling his eyes and pressing a kiss to Oliver’s top of head.  
“What happened, Ryan?” She questioned, taking a seat on the couch as Owen and Ryan did the same.

Even though her and Ryan got along and established a relationship, she still didn’t feel right calling him father. To her, her father was the man who raised her from birth, who comforted her and protected her. She wasn’t sure if Ryan would have been doing the same, if he had taken the role of father early on. Nancy referred to him as Ryan, and Carson as father, and neither of them disputed it.

It was crazy to Owen, having this familiar situation. His family was fucked up, that was for sure, but he still couldn’t imagine the constant trauma and back and forth Nancy always faced with regard to this. He stood by her side through it all, regardless of if she had Drew or Hudson blood in her veins. Plus, it did force Ryan to get along cordially with Owen, so he also took that as a plus.

“So, I was having a drink on the couch, right here.” Ryan pointed to the couch in the far corner of the room.  
“The TV was on, it was about three in the afternoon, yesterday. I had just wrapped up a deal, and I was relaxing when all of a sudden, my TV screen started to crack. I stood up, and one of my chandeliers crashed to the ground. Before I could do anything, that….that…..that figure appeared. The green one, she looks like a walking piece of seaweed, dude.”  
“What did she do?” Owen questioned as Nancy surveyed the damage the chandelier left across the room. There was no glass, no damage to the floor, it was like nothing happened...just like in her office, when the glass was mysteriously cleaned up, and her photographs were just lined up against the wall as if nothing happened.  
“She screeched at me, and the only thing I could understand was ‘you’ll pay’. I asked what she meant, but before I could get my sentence finished, the seaweed wrapped around my ankles and yanked me to the ground.” Ryan pointed to the carpet he had on the hardwood floor, which extended under the couches. “I don’t know what’s going on, Nancy, but this never happened before. I thought we were done with this?!”  
“I did too, Ryan.” Her answer was bleak at best. “I have to find out why this is happening again. It’s been years, we haven’t heard a word, and then this?”  
“I just don’t get it, Nancy. What do you think is happening?”   
She hadn’t remembered seeing this type of fear in his eyes since when this all began nine years ago.  
“We have to go back,” she sighed. “We have to go back to Horseshoe Bay, and resolve this there. All of us.”  
“I’ll start packing.” Ryan jumped up, which confused Nancy.  
“You have no reservations about that?” She inquired, taking Oliver from him and setting him down to roam the ground.  
“I need to fix this, Nancy. For me, for you, for you and Owen. I know that you’ve both been through a lot, but if this can wrap that chapter up, wouldn’t that be nice?”  
“It would. It could also make all of this a million times worse. Remember Ryan, none of us left the town on very good terms.”  
“I know, I know.” He frowned, moving and setting his hand on her shoulder. “But, at the same time, we weren’t united then. Now look at us, it’s you and me and Owen and Carson and Ace and everyone else. We all want the same thing. We’re all older now, we’re more mature now and hopefully we’ll get it right the first time so this can stop. I mean, for Christ’s sake Nancy, you two can’t even think about kids with this looming around. We need to stop this now. ”  
“Wow. Look at you, wanting to be a grandfather.” Owen said with a small grin, crossing his arms across his chest.   
“Hey, you know what? I couldn’t be the right father, so that’s my second chance at this.”  
“Well, let’s not worry about children right this second.” Nancy squirmed on the seat of the couch. “Nick is flying up Monday, so Owen and I are planning on getting there Sunday.”  
“I’ll be there. I can have Todd watch the place while I’m gone, and we always have the Hudson house.”

For Ryan, this was a lot more than just going home. This was the first time he’d be appearing at Horseshoe Bay since his father passed. His mother, during the estate distribution, abandoned Horseshoe Bay after Mr. Hudson left the house to Ryan. She took up residence in their mansion in Miami, and has never returned since. 

Nancy wasn’t able to go with Ryan to his father’s funeral, due to the fact that they had worked so hard to keep her real identity secret. She felt terrible because she couldn’t support her father at one of the hardest times of his life, but her and Owen (and Oliver) were at his apartment when he got back, spending the week with him afterwards to make sure he was healing properly before they returned to Norwalk. 

“Yeah, there’s always the Hudson house.” Nancy replied quietly. It felt strange to her, just the thought of coming into that home knowing she was partly an heir to it all, meanwhile the last time she entered the home she was getting her grandfather arrested.


	6. Chapter 6; pancakes with seaweed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m really afraid you aren’t going to make it out of there a second time.”  
> “I’ll be fine, Nance. I’ll make sure of it.”  
> “Owen, we can both promise each other we’re going to be fine and safe and out of harm’s way, but we don’t know.”  
> “Well, you know I’m going to be by your side during it all. We either do it together, or we don’t do it at all.”

Nancy was currently standing in her and Owen’s master bedroom. It was a large bedroom, large enough for two chairs in front of the bed facing the wall-mounted flatscreen. They had a dark hardwood floor, with plush cream colored rugs on top for texture. The walls were all creamy white with thick white molding, and they had a floor to ceiling sliding glass door that led out to their own private balcony overlooking their property.

Owen had put a lot of thought into creating this room for him and Nancy. He really tried to create a relaxing space so at the end of the night, she could come and decompress here. For their bedroom, his intention was a rustic meets coastal space.

The master bathroom was what he was most proud of, though. He wanted a tranquil space, reminiscent of a spa he had visited once in Japan that exuded a certain level of comfort, security, and peace. He tried his hardest to recreate that feeling with their master suite. 

The bathroom was covered in floor to ceiling light jade green and grey tiles, the flooring grey tiles with heaters underneath, and the shower and tub area had a sleek glass door and a rainfall shower head. The showerhead also had an attachment for essential oils, which Nancy was actually obsessed with.

Her and Owen were both trying to pack today, so they didn’t waste their whole weekend with packing and driving. Owen had a surprise planned for saturday, so they decided to spend their friday afternoon packing so they could relax until sunday morning’s drive.

“I have socks, I have tennis shoes and also dressy shoes, I have professional clothes but I also have some casual dresses, I ha-”  
“Nancy,” Owen started from across the bedroom, his head previously in his closet before pulling it out to talk to her. “Bring whatever you feel is right. Don’t stress, you know what to expect.”  
“Do I?” She asked, looking back at her husband with a pained expression. “Do I really, though? I don’t have an outfit in case you unexplainably die again.” Nancy snarked, immediately regretting the words that came out of her mouth.  
He scrunched his face up, and Nancy’s expressions softed.  
“Owen, I’m sorry, I-”  
“No, no. You just...do what you need to do.” He said softly, before standing up and going to the walk-in closet instead. He closed the door softly behind him, blinking a few times before staring at the walls of clothing surrounding him.

He knew Nancy was stressed. Not only that, but he understood she was stressed. He just didn’t understand what was with the misplaced aggression. Owen didn’t expect Nancy to be happy about this, not in the slightest, but he also didn’t expect her to be so blatantly mean about it, either. 

Owen knew he couldn’t be mad at her because this was how Nancy expressed her hurt. She does it in the way of biting comments, and he knows that she realizes it, but she normally speaks before she thinks. It’s not that he minded, he accepted her for her and her flaws just like she does for him and his flaws, it’s just that sometimes he wished she was more aware of how it sounded before she said it.

Normally, he didn’t worry about his feelings getting hurt. She was his wife, they were both brass and sometimes said things that they didn’t mean. They’d both done it, both were guilty at it, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less. It also didn’t mean Owen was in better spirits than Nancy about returning to Horseshoe Bay.

No one really thought about how traumatic that experience was for Owen. It wasn’t like it was a peaceful rest at a five star resort. It was a medically induced coma, which led to countless nightmares until he woke up. There were monsters he couldn’t escape from, pain he couldn’t forget. He had heard everything being spoken around him, which led to even more painful dreams. He felt so helpless having all these people crying around him, and being unable to do anything about it.

He never told anyone about the nightmares he experienced. He kept it to himself, mainly because he understood everyone around him was hurting at the same time. Owen wrote it off as explaining that he was asleep for the majority of the time, but didn’t get into details. 

It was so painful for Owen to lay there, unable to do anything while he heard Nancy crying over his body. He knew she thought he was dying, and to be honest, he did too. But, Owen knew that if he didn’t fight, he wouldn’t wake up.

He didn’t want to return, either, but he knew that if he and Nancy were going to continue to live their life together, then they needed to fix this immediately. Owen had so many things he wanted to experience with Nancy, but with this spirit world holding them back, he couldn’t do any of them without this last tie being released.

A soft knock at the door shook him out of his thoughts. “Owen,” Nancy said softly.  
“Yeah?”  
The redhead popped her head through the door after opening it, frowning at him. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I didn’t mean to say that.”  
“It’s okay, I understand.”  
“Still, I shouldn’t have said that or said it in that way. It wasn’t what I meant. I’m just….I’m just scared, O.”  
Owen frowned and nodded, leaning his body against the wall and reaching out to her. Nancy obliged, coming into his arms and resting her head against his chest. Her usually bright eyes closed tightly.  
“I’m really afraid you aren’t going to make it out of there a second time.”  
“I’ll be fine, Nance. I’ll make sure of it.”  
“Owen, we can both promise each other we’re going to be fine and safe and out of harm’s way, but we don’t know.”  
“Well, you know I’m going to be by your side during it all. We either do it together, or we don’t do it at all.”  
“I know,” she said softly. “You just...we know that it wanted you from the start, and every day since I’ve thanked the universe for keeping you with me, but I’m just...this is literally dancing with the devil, this is asking for it to come back and take you. I’m just really frightened that something is going to happen to you, but maybe if we stay here, we can just...pretend it doesn’t exist?”  
“That’s not the Nancy Drew I met in Horseshoe Bay. That’s not the Nancy Drew I married.”  
“I know, I’m just trying to talk myself out of it at this point, but I know I can’t.”  
“So, what’s it gonna be, Marvin? Are we going to go back there and risk our lives to save ourselves and our friends? Or, are we going to stay safe in our nice warm house and let the spirits continue to warn us and we do nothing to change it?”  
There was a dramatic pause on Nancy’s side. “You know we’re going to do it.”  
“I know.”  
“So, let’s get your bags packed. I’d advise, though, to leave Tom Ford here...” she suggested softly, bending down and taking the charcoal grey herringbone suit jacket out of the suitcase he had lying wide open on the ground.  
“Don’t you dare!” He gasped, taking it back and shaking his head. “She didn’t mean that baby, I promise.” Owen cooed, petting the shoulder of the suit jacket and laying it back down gingerly.  
“God, you’re so weird.”  
\---------  
Nancy and Owen were seated on their overstuffed, cognac colored leather couch in their living room. The television was in front of them, and they were watching some random hallmark movie Nancy put on. It was a fact she liked to keep hidden, a weakness of hers, but she adored hallmark movies. The romance, the easy to solve mysteries, the pure happiness and joy that came out of them brought more to her life than a random action movie in the movie theatres. 

They had finished packing two hours ago, and decided to order some take out from the Thai restaurant down the road and cuddle up to a movie. Their granite fireplace located on the closer wall of the room kept them warm and crackled, adding another comforting feeling to the room.

Their home was an open floor layout, extremely modern to every last detail. Each corner was created by hand, by Owen himself. There were some perks, it seemed, to being the owner of Pine Hill Construction Co. One was the ability to obtain literally anything you wanted to build, another was the influx of money being a Marvin brought on.

Their kitchen was all exposed, reworked wood and white surfaces. Owen had state of the art appliances, and located in the basement was even a wet bar for their entertainment pleasure. He didn’t spare any expenses when it came to this house, he wanted a house Nancy could only dream about.

They had floor to ceiling walls of windows on two sides of their house, which had motorized blinds that came cascading closed when they wanted more privacy. The flooring was wall to wall cherry wood harvested by locals, and the remaining walls were covered in stone and warm toned cream and beige paints. There was a massive wooden hand crafted chandelier hanging above the dining room, with antique candles instead of lightbulbs that were controlled by remote or lightswitch.

Oliver was currently snoring on his little couch shaped dog bed on the floor, opposite the couch so he could watch both of his parents. He would occasionally pause his snoring and jump if there was a louder crack of the fireplace than normal, then he would settle back to his slumber.

“To this day, I cannot get over your obsession of these movies.” Owen spoke softly in Nancy’s ear. The redhead was currently curled up in his strong arms, her head against his chest almost buried in the crook of his neck.   
“I honestly can’t believe you hadn’t watched them before me. They’re cinematic masterpieces, I’d thought that surely a Marvin would’ve been introduced to such pure talent before.”  
“I cannot say I ever was, babe. You’ve truly enlightened me, and I am eternally grateful.”  
“It always brings warmth to my soul, knowing I can educate the less fortunate.” She giggled, blinking up at him and resting her left hand against his cheek. Her yellow gold two row oval shaped engagement ring was chilly against his cheek, which he made a small face at before turning his head slightly to the left and kissing her hand.  
“I love you, doofus.” She told him, speaking softly before pressing her lips to his own plump, warm ones.  
“I love you more.” He breathed, kissing her back and slowly shifting their bodies so that he was soon laying on top of her.   
\------  
The next morning, Nancy turned over in her bed, reaching out to the right to rest her hand on Owen’s body. When all she met was empty sheets, her ocean colored eyes flashed open. The billowy white curtains were blowing in the wind, the blinds were opened and sunlight was pouring into their master bedroom.

Nancy sat up in confusion, not remembering falling asleep in their bed. Before she could call out for Owen, he came bustling through their bedroom door with a cheesy blue and white stripe apron wrapped around him and a tray of breakfast foods in his hands.

“I was wondering where you ran off to,” she started as she sat up straight.  
“Well, someone needs breakfast or she gets very cranky,” he smirked, coming towards her and placing the wooden breakfast tray over her lap.  
“Thank you,” Nancy beamed as her eyes scanned over the tray.

There was a plate full of golden brown pancakes, four strips of thick-cut brown sugar and red pepper bacon, a plate of scrambled eggs folded with cheddar cheese, two steaming mugs of french-pressed coffee, and two cold glasses of orange juice.

Owen climbed back into bed, pulling the covers up as Nancy handed him his set of silverware. He reached over, snagging the plate of eggs that Nancy never liked. She had a thing with eggs, it was weird, but the smell and texture was always so unappealing. He didn’t mind, she was easy to please and didn’t ask for much.

Nancy and Owen began to enjoy their breakfast, and Owen flicked on their wall mounted television set. They usually watched their local news station in the morning, which was easy enough to watch without being totally invested in. Oliver came padding into their room, a piece of pancake falling out of his mouth as he settled on his tan dog bed in their bedroom to the side of their bed.

“I felt guilty,” Owen murmured, nodding to his doggy sized pancake Oliver was currently tearing into.  
“Oh, my goodness!” She laughed, shaking her head and taking a sip of her orange juice. “You’re too much.”  
“Hey, what can I say? Anything to keep my family happy.” His cheek was met with a soft kiss from Nancy, and he happily took another bite of his bacon. 

Once breakfast was over, Nancy walked Oliver down the stairs as Owen carried the tray with the empty plates and cups. He left it at the kitchen counter, which Nancy took over, while Oliver and Owen went to the sliding glass back door to go outside. 

Nancy was washing the dishes and loading up the dishwasher, cleaning up their used items while Owen and Oliver were trotting around their fenced in backyard. Usually Owen accompanied Oliver to get some fresh air and enjoy the beautiful sunny mornings. He waited on their deck, watching as their puppy sprinted back towards him after doing his business. Oliver was holding something in his mouth, and dropped it once Owen requested. Bending down, Owen lifted the piece of kelly green seaweed with a raised brow, looking around their backyard.

They lived on the water, but it was a man made lake, not an ocean. It connected further out into the ocean, but not for miles and miles. There’s no way that they’d have seaweed washing up against the dock. Before he could say anything, the seaweed disappeared in his hands and crumbled to sand between his fingertips. 

“What the-”

The sound of a glass breaking shook him out of his confusion. He grabbed up Oliver and jogged back inside the house, closing and locking the door before turning to Nancy who was hovering over the sink. 

“Is everything alright?” He asked, putting Oliver onto the ground and moving towards Nancy in a hurry.  
“It depends on your definition of alright.”

Her french-manicured nails pointed to the murky, cloudy black and grey water currently swirling round their kitchen sink. It was dark and gloomy, and Nancy explained that she had dropped a glass in the sink once it began to bubble and rise out of nervousness. 

The pair studied the water as it continued to bubble and turn, until what looked like a seaweed covered hand began to rise within the depths of the water. Oliver, by their feet, could see a hand coming out and began to bark incessantly.   
As quickly as it appeared, the hand disappeared into the water which suddenly drained through the sink. Nancy and Owen stared at each other, then both reached for their buzzing cell phones as they assumed their friends were calling to provide similar reports.   
“God, this aglaeca can’t seem to give us one more day of peace, can it?” Nancy snarked, hanging up the phone with Bess and turning to watch as Owen was listening to Ace’s testimony. Owen shook his head, leaning over and pressing a kiss to her forehead.   
“We still have plans today, don’t let this get in the way, alright?” He reminded her.  
The two of them could use one last escape before the madness started settling in once more.


	7. Chapter 7; calling card to the dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re like a calling card to the dead, Nance. They dial into you, and sometimes it’s helpful yes, but times like this? Definitely not so much.”

Owen held the car door for Nancy, who hopped out of the passenger seat with Oliver in her arms. She looked around, her right eyebrow raised in confusion. She didn’t understand why he wanted to make a pitstop in Manhattan before they made their trek to Maine, but Nancy didn’t say anything. Instead, she followed behind Owen as the Valet took their car into the parking garage of their apartment building.

The apartment was more of a condominium in the middle of SoHo. The Marvin’s owned a bunch of real estate in Manhattan, but this was where Owen had made his home. When Nancy was still attending college in Manhattan, she stayed with Owen in his penthouse apartment. The view was the only spectacular part, though. 

Other than the beautiful view of the city at night, it was a basic, plain apartment. It wasn’t terribly large or decorated with detail, it was four walls and a cramped hallway, the kitchen that barely fit the two of them together at times, and your usual city apartment. It wasn’t a Marvin Masterpiece, by far.

That was what Owen had wanted, though. He viewed this apartment as his escape from all the Marvelous Marvin Industries had to offer - there were no marbled staircases or elevators, no thick crown molding or elegant floor plans. It was a simple apartment with one bedroom, one kitchen, one bathroom, and a living/dining space. It was tight and cramped, but it was the opposite of all other properties he had resided in.

That was, until Nancy opened their front door to Unit 5G. 

The redhead gasped, holding Oliver closer to her chest as her ocean-colored eyes scanned the property in front of her. Before she could speak, Owen had nudged her shoulder to walk in and began explaining himself.

“I thought this place could use some renovating.”  
“Owen, what is this?”  
“The woman downstairs from our unit had finally broken her lease and moved out. Instead of renting it, the builders and I decided to open the flooring up and give us more room. So, you’ll see the red brick wall right there? There’s a spiral staircase that leads to our downstairs, where we’ll have our living area and another bedroom and bathroom. They took out the kitchen downstairs, gutted it, and made the entire floor a living room and separate dining room. Now, we have room up here as you see where I turned our old living/common area into an open office for the both of us. I was trying to plan for the future, you know, wherever that takes us?”

The area he was mentioning with the open office was covered in thick dark-stained wood bookshelves, and a matching long two person desk. There was a filing cabinet underneath the desk on both sides, one for him and her, she presumed. He had even framed a few pictures to add, one of her and her father, one of her and Ryan and himself. 

The space was much more open, now. He kept the same charm of their apartment - the exposed brick walls, the dark wooden flooring and the same less than luxury feel they grew to know, now with a spiral staircase adorned with matching red brick and hardwood, bringing the eye to the studio downstairs which matched the main apartment.

Nancy never would have dreamed he’d do this. She always assumed that they’d just buy a bigger space in the city when it was time, but she also knew how much this place meant to both him and her. He must’ve been busy for weeks with this project, and keeping a secret from Nancy is never an easy feat. 

They had always discussed the future, children, all of that, and before this latest visit from the supernatural, they were really trying to get there. Nancy knew that Owen did it for that future, that possibility, and her heart felt tight with the thought that this visit to Horseshoe Bay might change that for them totally.

For now, though, she was going to enjoy one more night in Manhattan with her husband and her dog, and her newly renovated apartment. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The next morning, the couple was back in the G-wagon, and had four more hours to go. Nancy had driven the first three, then the pair pulled over to let Oliver walk and go to the bathroom, and the two of them to stretch their legs. They grabbed a latte and some snacks and were back on their way. Owen took over the drive for the remainder, and Nancy was in charge of the music. 

“What do you...what do you think is going to happen?” She asked, sounding almost timid.   
“I...Honestly, Nance? I have no idea.”  
“Do you think this is going to be like last time?”  
“It could be. It could be totally different. I think this is the issue with dealing with supernatural affairs - we never know what to expect, and when we do, it’s a total one eighty.”  
“I just don’t want to lose you, O-”  
“You aren’t going to lose me. Something tells me if she’s back, she isn’t just back for me.”  
“But why not? I mean, you’re so handsome.”  
“Shut up,” he chuckled, shaking his head and moving his right hand through his hair. “She’s back for all of us, and the only thing we can do is face it together. We can’t do much else besides that. Whatever happens, we deal with it together, all of us are just as guilty.”  
“That’s true.”  
“You know? We all did it, and if it’s after me because of my family’s heritage, then it’s also after Bess.”  
“That...that’s a good point, actually, I never thought of that.”

Owen shrugged his broad shoulders. He was wearing a cream colored long sleeve Theory henley, dark wash Rag & Bone slim fit jeans, and a pair of Golden Goose dark grey sneakers. His hair was perfectly coiffed and gelled, and his smile was bright white. Somehow, he always managed to look so put together, and it always amazed Nancy. She could spend hours on herself, and never look as proper.

“I just hope you’re right. I hope this gets done quickly, and we don’t have to deal with this ever again.”  
“I wish we’d be that lucky,” Owen murmured and Nancy sighed.   
“I feel like this is always going to follow us, Nance. Maybe not this specific aglaeca, but I think once she’s gone, it’s going to be something else.”  
“It’s like something will always pull us back to Horseshoe Bay.” She acknowledged, pulling at a stray string on the hemline of her shirt.

She was wearing a black Wild Fox v neck long sweater, and a pair of creme colored AG crop skinny jeans. Nancy had a dark wash denim jacket, the same color as Owen’s jeans, in the back seat in case she got cold. Her cropped jeans left her ankles bare, but her feet were covered in a pair of white Superga low top lace up sneakers. The redhead had dusted on the same light coverage makeup she always wore, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail with a few loose strands framing her face. 

Owen was about to reply, when suddenly their car’s steering wheel froze. He gripped it harder and Nancy sat up straight, watching as he tried to turn the wheel to the left or right but it wouldn’t budge. Owen put on his turn signal, merging to the right lane when it was clear and pulling onto the breakdown lane in Massachusetts. 

Nancy and Owen both jumped out of the car, leaving Oliver pacing in the backseat, curious to why they stopped. Owen popped open the hood and Nancy got her flashlight out of her purse. While Owen opened the hood and began checking the reservoirs, Nancy was looking underneath the car when something caught her eye. 

“Owen? What is this?” She asked him, and he turned his attention to the ground she was crouching on. 

He kneeled down, taking the flashlight and leaning underneath the car with his belly on the concrete. Owen stretched his arm forward, and when he pulled it back, his hand was holding sand. 

“How could that happen?” Nancy asked him, leaning over his shoulder.

Owen shrugged his shoulders, then got back up to look at the reservoir. He opened up the power steering reservoir, and all he saw was sand sitting at the top of it. Reaching into the front window, he grabbed a plastic spoon from the glove box and circled back to the front hood. He dug it into the reservoir, pulling out a spoonful of sand. He waved Nancy’s hand close, and dumped it into her palm.

“I just don’t understand, we’re on our way! What more do you want?!” Nancy yelled to the river beside them, closing her hand around the fistfull of warm sand until it finally disappeared in a cloud of smoke.   
“See what I’m saying?” Owen asked, taking another look into the reservoir and finally seeing the power steering fluid. “There’s always going to be something else, something more, bringing us right back to Horseshoe Bay.”  
“It’s like a magnet, or a-”  
“You’re like a calling card to the dead, Nance. They dial into you, and sometimes it’s helpful yes, but times like this? Definitely not so much.”  
“You know I can’t control this, Owen,” Nancy’s voice broke, and he turned to his wife still leaning over the open hood of his car. 

Frowning, Owen released his grip on the reservoir and wiped his hands on his pockets, then wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Nancy didn’t lose it often, but when she did, it killed him. 

“Baby, I’m not saying that you have any control over this.” He whispered into her ear, pressing his chin to the top of her head.   
“I just can’t take it anymore. This has been going on for too long,” she whimpered, wiping tears off of her cheeks and sniffling.  
“I know, and we’re going to find a way to resolve this right away. Our answer has to lie in Horseshoe Bay, there’s no other reason why they all pull us back there.”  
“And if it’s not?”  
“If it’s not, we’ll find it another way. You know me, I’m always going to be here, always going to support you, even if that means living with ghosts and haunted houses and possessed objects for the rest of my life, then so be it.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“I was sure of this the day I married you, Nancy Drew.”


End file.
